Drugs and the Politics of Consumption in Japan

The 'politics of consumption' in Japan allow a reevaluation of the boundaries between accepted and deviant, licit and illicit in a global historical perspective. What political, economic, social and cultural processes shaped particular perceptions of drugs in Japan? What policies and practices make Japan historically comparable or connect Japan to other countries? Contributions are about drug production and trade, consumption, addiction and prohibition in Japan and its overseas territories from the pre-modern to the postwar period. Please find the conference flyer and program here. Programm Thursday, August 22 13:45-14:00 Opening Judith Vitale and Ulrich Brandenburg, University of Zurich: Opening Remarksa Raji Steineck, University of Zurich: Welcome Address 14:00-15:30 1. Knowledge and Consumption in the Pre-modern Period Anna Andreeva, University of Heidelberg Childbirth, Buddhist Notions of Pain, and Pain Relief in Medieval Japan Jonas Rüegg, Harvard University Goblins, Spirits and Mushrooms: Hallucinogens in Japan Before the Invention of ‘Drugs’ Discussant: David Howell, Harvard University 16:00-17:30 2. Commerce and Diplomacy Ozaki Kōji, Otemae University Opium and Japan in the Late Tokugawa and the Early Meiji Eras Ulrich Brandenburg, University of Zurich Opium in Meiji Japan’s Internationalization: The Cases of Iran and the Ottoman Empire Discussant: Martin Dusinberre, University of Zurich 18:00-19:30 Keynote Lecture John Jennings, USAF Academy Friday, August 23 10:00-12:15 3. Commerce, Consumption and Empire William Gervase Clarence-Smith, SOAS, University of London The House of Samuel as Official Supplier of Opium to the Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1926 Timothy Yang, University of Georgia The Pharmaceutical Business, Empire, and Modern Japan Hung Bin Hsu, National Cheng Kung University Poppy Tent as Private Paradise? The Transformation of Social Activities and Spaces of Opium Smokers in Japanese Colonial Taiwan Discussant: Harald Fischer-Tiné, ETH Zurich 13:45-16:00 4. Pre-War Period Miriam Kingsberg Kadia, University of Colorado Boulder Japan’s ‘Belle Epoque’: Narcotics in Japanese Imperial Fiction Judith Vitale, University of Zurich Drugs and Inter-War Anxieties Christopher Szpilman, Teikyo University Narcotics and the Japanese Right Wing: The Curious Career of Fujita Isamu Discussant: Mariko Iijima, Sophia University 16:30-18:00 5. Post-War Period Jesús Solis, Harvard University Drug Trafficking and the Consumption of Narcotics during the Occupation Period Jeffrey Alexander, Pueblo Community College Horrible Hiropon: Anti-Meth Campaigns in Postwar Japan Discussant: Sheldon Garon, Princeton University Saturday, August 24 9:30-11:45 6. Recent Trends William Marotti, UCLA The Politics of Violence, Glue-Sniffing, and Liberation: Making 1968 in Japan Oleg Benesch, University of York Japan’s Magic Mushroom Moment: Legality, Morality, and Identity Maki Umemura, Cardiff University Regenerating Medicine in Japan, 1973–present Discussant: David Chiavacci, University of Zurich 12:00-13:00 Concluding Remarks and Final Discussion Chair: John Jennings, USAF Academy